Medical librarian

OBJECTIVE: Mentoring and coaching practices have supported the career and skill development of healthcare professionals (HCPs); however, their role in digital technology adoption and implementation for HCPs is unknown. The objective of this scoping review was to summarize information on healthcare education programs that have integrated mentoring or coaching as a key component. METHODS: The search strategy and keyword searches were developed by the project team and a research librarian...

INTRODUCTION: We must ensure, through rigorous assessment that physicians have the evidence-based medicine (EBM) skills to identify and apply the best available information to their clinical work. However, there is limited guidance on how to assess EBM competency. With a better understanding of their current role in EBM education, Health Sciences Librarians (HSLs), as experts, should be able to contribute to the assessment of medical student EBM competence. The purpose of this study is to explore the HSLs perspective on EBM assessment practices, both current state and potential future activities...

OBJECTIVE: Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have summarized the evidence on the efficacy and safety of various outpatient cervical ripening methods. However, the method with the highest efficacy and safety profile has not been determined conclusively. We performed a systematic review and network meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials to assess the efficacy and safety of cervical ripening methods currently employed in the outpatient setting. DATA SOURCES: With the assistance of an experienced medical librarian, we performed a systematic search of the literature using MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials...

OBJECTIVE: Several systematic reviews and meta-analyses have been conducted to summarize the evidence for the efficacy of various labor induction agents. However, the most effective agents or strategies have not been conclusively determined. We aimed to perform a meta-review and network meta-analysis of published systematic reviews to determine the efficacy and safety of currently employed pharmacologic, mechanical, and combined methods of labor induction. DATA SOURCES: With the assistance of an experienced medical librarian, we performed a systematic search of the literature using PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Central Register of Control Trials...

INTRODUCTION: Enhancing interprofessional education (IPE) fosters collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals specializing in musculoskeletal (MSK) care. This approach presents a valuable opportunity to address the pressing MSK disease burden in developing countries, with high prevalence rates and limited resources. While an abundance of literature on the various elements of IPE among healthcare students and professionals exists, shared contexts of practice of South African MSK disciplines are not currently developed through IPE at higher education level, establishing a need for South African formalised curricular IPE interventions with an explicit focus on undergraduate students of MSK healthcare professions...

INTRODUCTION: Blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) occurs in 1-3% of blunt traumas and is associated with stroke, disability, and mortality if unrecognized and untreated. Early detection and treatment are imperative to reduce the risk of stroke, however, there is significant variation amongst centers and trauma care providers in the specific medical management strategy used. This study compares antiplatelets vs. anticoagulants to determine BCVI-related stroke risk and bleeding complications to better understand the efficacy and safety of various treatment strategies...

Despite prior publications of clinical practice guidelines related to ventilator liberation, some questions remain unanswered. Many of these questions relate to the details of bedside implementation. We, therefore, formed a guidelines committee of individuals with experience and knowledge of ventilator liberation as well as a medical librarian. Using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology, we make the following recommendations: (1) We suggest that calculation of a rapid shallow breathing index is not needed to determine readiness for a spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) (conditional; moderate certainty); (2) We suggest that SBTs can be conducted with or without pressure support ventilation (conditional recommendation, moderate certainty); (3) We suggest a standardized approach to assessment and, if appropriate, completion of an SBT before noon each day (conditional recommendation, very low certainty); and (4) We suggest that FIO2 should not be increased during an SBT (conditional recommendation, very low certainty)...

BACKGROUND: Ultrasonographic soft markers are normal variants, rather than fetal abnormalities, and guidelines recommend a detailed survey of fetal anatomy to determine the necessity of antenatal karyotyping. Anecdotal reports have described cases with ultrasonographic soft markers in which chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) revealed pathogenic copy number variants (CNVs) despite normal results on conventional karyotyping, but CMA for ultrasonographic soft markers remains a matter of debate...

BACKGROUND: Subcutaneous fat necrosis of the newborn (SCFN) is a rare form of panniculitis manifesting as erythematous plaques or nodules at sites of brown fat in neonates. Surgical management may be indicated in severe cases; however, there is a paucity of literature compiling presentations and outcomes of these surgical patients. METHODS: The authors performed a systematic review, in consultation with a licensed librarian, on MEDLINE and Embase for studies including patients with SCFN who were surgically managed...

BACKGROUND: Access to reliable and accurate digital health web-based resources is crucial. However, the lack of dedicated search engines for non-English languages, such as French, is a significant obstacle in this field. Thus, we developed and implemented a multilingual, multiterminology semantic search engine called Catalog and Index of Digital Health Teaching Resources (CIDHR). CIDHR is freely accessible to everyone, with a focus on French-speaking resources. CIDHR has been initiated to provide validated, high-quality content tailored to the specific needs of each user profile, be it students or professionals...

BACKGROUND: Illness presenteeism (IP) is the phenomenon where individuals continue to work despite illness. While it has been a prevalent and longstanding issue in medicine, the recent onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing movement to improve physician wellness brings renewed interest in this topic. However, there have been no comprehensive reviews on the state of literature of this topic. PURPOSE: The main aim of this scoping review is to explore what is known about presenteeism in physicians, residents, and medical students in order to map and summarize the literature, identify research gaps and inform future research...

BACKGROUND: Several hospital pharmacy services exist, which take place at different interfaces of patient care. Although they are an important tool for improving medication safety, they are not yet sufficiently implemented in hospitals around the world. OBJECTIVE: This scoping review aims to summarise different hospital pharmacy services at transition of care (TOC) points in order to identify development trends and practice patterns in high-income countries over the past decade...

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature to determine the prevalence of free flap failure in head and neck free flaps requiring vein grafting. DATA SOURCES: Search strategies created in collaboration with a medical librarian were implemented using PubMed, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar from inception to August 2022. REVIEW METHODS: The population of interest included adult and pediatric patients undergoing reconstruction of oncologic or traumatic head and neck defects with a free flap requiring a vein graft that presents the success/failure rate...

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) have evolved to validated questionnaires assessing health-related quality of life. This systematic review evaluates the utilization of PROs in United States plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS) clinical trials (CTs). METHODS: A medical librarian conducted a search strategy for PRS CTs from 2012 to 2022. CTs were identified and assessed for PRO utilization. Summary statistics were performed, and Fisher's exact test was used for subgroup analysis...

BACKGROUND: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are gaining favor in clinical and research settings given their ability to capture a patient's symptom burden, functional status, and quality of life. Our objective in this systematic review was to summarize studies including PROMs assessed among older adults (age ≥ 65 years) after seeking emergency care. METHODS: With the assistance of a medical librarian, we searched Ovid MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science-Core Collection, and Cochrane CENTRAL from inception through June 2023 for studies in which older adult ED patients had PROMs assessed in the post-emergency care time period...

INTRODUCTION: In 2018, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended low-dose aspirin to prevent the onset of pre-eclampsia among women who were at high risk. Factors influencing women's acceptance of this recommendation span multiple sectors and levels. Understanding how these factors interact will help stakeholders design effective population-level intervention strategies. Our study aims to identify and map relationships among factors influencing the medication decisions of pregnant women at risk of hypertensive disorders...

BACKGROUND: Ebola virus disease (EVD) continues to be a major public health threat globally, particularly in the low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) of Africa. The social and economic burdens of EVD are substantial and have triggered extensive research into prevention and control. We aim to highlight the impact and economic implications, identify research gaps, and offer recommendations for future economic studies pertaining to EVD. METHOD: We conducted a comprehensive librarian-led search in PubMed/Medline, Embase, Google Scholar, EconLit and Scopus for economic evaluations of EVD...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) have evidence for their potential in the treatment of substance use disorders (SUD). Medication for addiction treatment (MAT) is underutilized and not always effective. We identified randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and case studies that evaluated the effectiveness of TMS or tDCS used concurrently with MAT in SUD treatment. METHODS: A systematic review of published literature following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted on 6/1/2023 by a medical librarian...

BACKGROUND: Firearm injury poses a significant public health burden in the United States. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this systematic review was to provide a comprehensive accounting of the medical costs of firearm injuries in the United States. METHODS: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify studies published between January 1, 2000 and July 13, 2022 that reported medical costs of firearm injuries. A search of Embase, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library databases was performed by a medical librarian...

Medical librarians can increase their work visibility and highlight their unique role on evidence synthesis teams with searchRxiv, an open access repository that makes librarian's efforts easily citable and resolves longstanding challenges pertaining to reproducing full search strategies within literature review articles. This column will discuss how to navigate searchRxiv to find, reuse, and cite published search strategies, as well as the process of depositing search strategies.